hotmtlnovel Page 97
Page 97
Chapter 224 Artoria: I have everything I need
The long-awaited reunion did not bring any intimate greetings. Artoria's feelings were complicated when she saw Quinn and Morgan again. Just as Morgan found it difficult to accept Quinn's plan, Artoria's heart was also not at peace. However, her heart was more resilient and she would not easily reveal her feelings.
Therefore, when she saw Mordred's expectant face, Artoria handed Mordred the sword that once belonged to Europa II without hesitation. Then, she went straight for Quinn. This was enough to make Mordred so excited that she could not recognize the atmosphere around her and was completely immersed in the false fantasy that she had gained "King Arthur's recognition".
"The Rhine gold has really been found?"
Perhaps because she had been searching for the Rhinegold for so long, Artoria seemed a little impatient.
Faced with Artoria's straightforwardness, Quinn didn't say much and led her directly into Morgan's laboratory, leaving Kay, Bedivere, and Mordred, who was holding the King's Sword and grinning foolishly, behind. The two Knights of the Round Table watched as their lord so obediently went into the small tent with the former emperor, and then looked at Mordred, who looked exactly like the current emperor, and couldn't help but sigh.
But the lamentations of the two Knights of the Round Table could not sway Artoria's resolve.
Upon entering Morgan's laboratory and seeing her older sister, Artoria immediately stepped forward and hugged Morgan.
"Long time no see, sister."
Morgan, who was engrossed in her magical research, was startled by the sudden attack. When she turned around and saw Artoria's face, she was stunned for a few seconds. Even though the two women had once regarded each other as rivals, their blood ties still took effect at this moment. Thinking about their experiences over the past thousand years, the soft part of Morgan's heart was touched by that "sister".
"It has indeed been a long time. I'm sorry, Artoria. I should have stopped that child's dictatorial behavior back then."
For once, Morgan apologized and showed weakness, a scene that touched Artoria somewhat. But she had no time to dwell on the past and continued urgently, "Let bygones be bygones. We have more important things to do now. I need you to forge a new weapon for me, sister. We must destroy the throne as soon as possible. That child is not far from becoming a beast."
Morgan looked at Quinn.
"Let's help her first."
With Artoria's arrival, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Compared to reforging the King's Sword, prioritizing the enhancement of this Knight King's combat power is clearly more important.
Although Artoria did not find the Rhine Gold in Germania, she did not leave empty-handed. During her time wandering alone in Germania, she did indeed find Balmond, the legendary sword of the dragon-slaying hero Siegfried.
The sword, once bathed in dragon's blood, has long lost its former glory due to the erosion of time. Yet, even so, Balmond remains one of the few treasures in the world that has slain dragons and possesses the dual nature of a "holy sword" and a "demon sword." When Artoria took out this blade, a chilling aura filled the tent, as if the weapon itself was shouting out its past story.
Unfortunately, the mottled rust on the sword proves the immense power of time, which even the most powerful weapons cannot withstand, leaving the weapon craftsman bowing his head in regret.
However, Morgan was not a weapons craftswoman; she was a legendary great magician, possessing the mystique of a fairy from paradise with the ability to forge holy swords. With Odin's sponsorship and the Rhine gold, which possessed immense mystical power, restoring this blade to its former glory was a trivial matter.
[The furnace was lit, the materials were added, and the magic of the fairies was applied. With a series of clanging sounds, the forging hammer, which flew through the air on its own, plunged into the flames, forging this weapon with precision and skill as if it possessed intelligence. With each strike, the rusty divine weapon gained a little more brilliance, like a giant beast awakening from a long slumber, beginning to breathe and exhale instinctively, gradually revealing its former appearance.]
In just three days, this rare and powerful weapon regained its former glory.
When Morgan personally handed this dragon-slaying sword to Artoria, you could clearly feel the tension and vulnerability in the King of Knights disappear. Artoria, who picked up the weapon again, seemed to have returned to the past, the queen you remembered who wielded the holy lance and fought alongside you in countless battles, easily crushing all enemies.
“Now I have everything I need.” Stroking the greatsword in her hand, Artoria regained her confidence and stellar bearing. She looked at Morgan and Quinn beside her, “When shall we return to London?”
"Soon, when Morgan rebuilds the King's Sword, when the Imperial Army launches its own attack."
[In response to Artoria's question, you maintained your planned pace. You did not intend to directly attack the British mainland. You now had sufficient manpower and a large enough army to crush any country in Europe, except Britain, because that was the masterpiece you had created. You knew better than anyone how terrifying the British army was.]
The Knights of the Righteous and the Paladin, both heavy cavalry regiments, are formidable forces capable of crushing conventional armies. These armies, once your reliance, are now formidable obstacles you must overcome with great effort. On the battlefield, even the Vikings cannot withstand the charge of heavy cavalry. You know very well that to truly win this war and bring down Europa II, the most important thing is not the victory of one or two battles, nor is it the landing of the Vikings in Northern Europe.
Only by completely destroying the core heavy cavalry legions of the British Empire can the military advantage of this behemoth over the European countries be shaken. This is a crucial step in weakening Europa II's power. When the vast empire is fragmented, it will be Europa II's most vulnerable moment.
Fortunately, Europa II had already lost his rationality.
News of Sir Kay's defection with the Royal Sword has reached the Emperor's ears. Enraged at the loss of his sword, the entire British Empire is mobilized under the Emperor's furious orders. An army of 100,000 men is being assembled, to be led by Melyuchina, the Emperor's most powerful elf knight, as they depart from Germania to strike directly at Denmark.
Your chance has come. If you can defeat Melyuchina in this war and shatter this army formed by the joint forces of various European countries, you will be able to destroy the myth of the British Empire's thousand-year invincibility and force Europa II to use her heavy cavalry regiment.
That will be the time for you to take the initiative.
Chapter 225 She attacked, why did she need to tell you?
The fairy knight Melyuchina and the Catholic Holy War Army are heading to Denmark; the day of annihilation for the Vikings who worship heretical gods has come.
Such rumors had already spread throughout Europe, and an expeditionary force composed of troops from Catholic countries had gathered in Germania under the banner of eradicating heretical beliefs. All the European kings were enthusiastic about this war, not because they were particularly devout in their religious beliefs, but because the initiator of the war, Emperor Europa II of the Britannian Empire, had promised them unprecedented benefits.
All kingdoms that join this war will be exempt from taxes for five years after the war ends, and will have the land of Scandinavia divided equally. The emperor's only requirement is to kill the Viking chieftain Ragnar, destroy all the temples in Scandinavia, and capture the traitor Artoria, along with her rebellious knights and leaders.
[None of the kings noticed who the rebel leader in the emperor's demands actually was. Driven by enormous interests, they seemed to tacitly accept that the emperor's target was the former regent Artoria, believing that this so-called holy war was essentially the emperor's way of completely eliminating traitors, and that this purge wouldn't take too much effort.]
While the kings of Europe were neglecting and complacent about the war, Scandinavia rallied together, relying on Odin's oracle and the Valkyrie's handmaidens as messengers. You completely disguised yourself as the chosen king in the eyes of the Vikings. Ragnar also took this opportunity to unify all the Vikings. Large quantities of minerals and timber were put into production by the Vikings to make dragon ships for sailing and sturdy weapons and armor. The once scattered Viking tribes had begun to take shape as cities and began to gather together densely.
The "Scandinavian Kingdom" was thus established.
The first thing this newly born kingdom did upon its birth was to prepare for war. Fortunately, it prepared very well. Hundreds of dragon ships, under Ragnar's leadership, sailed to Denmark to build fortresses and solidify defenses in this archipelago. Faced with the threat of the Holy War, the warlike and fearless Vikings were not afraid. On the contrary, their character was in line with yours, and they planned to engage the Holy War directly on the coastline. To this end, the Vikings built a long coastal fortification.
Compared to the Vikings' meticulous preparations, your attitude can be described as contemptuous, because you know very well that the seemingly numerous Holy War army is not actually an insurmountable force. The nations that make up this army are constantly at odds with each other. If it weren't for the emperor's authority that instills fear in these nations, the European continent would probably have long since descended into chaos. The only reason these nations are cooperating now is for one reason only.
[Meliuchina is the emperor's confidante; she symbolizes Europa II. Only when she is in command can the jihadist army maintain a semblance of peace. But this harmony is ultimately a facade. Once Meliuchina is defeated and the war goes against them, chaos will naturally ensue within the jihadist army. Therefore, your operational objective is very clear.]
[Lure Melyuchina onto the battlefield, then defeat her.]
This step is to deliver a crushing blow to the Jihad Army. This shouldn't be too difficult for you. When the Knights of the Round Table appeared in the Viking army, the Vikings' numerical disadvantage no longer existed. Moreover, amphibious assaults were extremely difficult in this era. Compared to the Vikings, who were used to maritime operations, the Jihad Army's naval warfare skills were not high. Just getting around the Viking dragonships would be a difficult battle for this army.
When the Jihad attempted their first landing on the Danish coast from the Germanic coast, the Viking fleets sailing the seas became their nightmare. The boarding tactics employed by each dragonship carrying dozens of Viking warriors were an overwhelming blow to the Jihad at the time. Even though the Jihad wore better armor, their armor, which could withstand sharp swords, became a hindrance when fighting on the turbulent sea.
The constant rocking of the ship made it difficult for the heavily armored infantry, whose combat environment was almost entirely on stable land, to maintain their balance. In contrast, the Vikings, who could move freely on the swaying ship, could easily overturn these tin cans and throw them into the sea, then let these heavily armored infantry sink to the bottom of the ocean.
[In just a few hours, the first amphibious landing launched by the Jihad Army ended with "no coastline in sight."]
How to send soldiers to the Danish coast became a problem for the high command of the Holy War Army. However, this problem was anticipated by the European kings, who were well aware of their own weaknesses. Therefore, when their weaknesses were attacked, they did not waver. They slowed down the pace of the offensive and continued to send more Viking warriors to Denmark under Ragnar's command to stabilize the sea defenses.
This lull lasted for two months. Just as Ragnar began to doubt whether the Jihad was going to stop the war, the second offensive began. This time, the European kings showed the Vikings what the gap between basic productivity and population truly meant.
When a vast, overwhelming number of ships appeared in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, surging towards Denmark from the east and west, even the most valiant Vikings could not stop the Jihadist army's landing. This fundamental numerical disparity meant that the Viking fleet, acting as the naval defense line, could only barely hold off the attack from the Baltic side, while the Jihadist army, having sailed from the North Sea and crossed the Skagerrak Strait, successfully encircled the entire Jutland and, together with the army attacking from the European landmass, captured Jutland.
The fall of Jutland greatly boosted the morale of the jihadists. At the same time, a letter was delivered to you through the hands of Danish farmers who had fled from the already occupied Jutland region.
From this refugee who barely escaped from Jutland, you learn that the letter's owner is a high-ranking officer in the Jihad, who has ordered him to deliver the letter to the true leader of the Vikings and to pass on a message.
"I will defeat you and prove that I am the strongest."
[You know that the owner of this letter is Melyuchina. She seems to know that you are the true ruler of the Vikings and the root cause of this war. You open the letter, wanting to see what Melyuchina wants to tell you, and then...]
Quinn glanced at the letter briefly and closed it. No matter how beautiful the handwriting was, he had no interest in reading it any further.
"What's wrong?" Mei, are you free? Lin, are you free?
His actions aroused the curiosity of the others in the tent, and Artoria, who was close to him, did not hide her curiosity and asked him in a concerned tone.
"Her insults were too vulgar, and they were all meaningless. The only useful message in the whole letter was that it contained no other information."
"what?"
"Seven days from now, Melyuchina will attack Copenhagen. We need to be prepared."
Quinn spoke as if he were talking about something important, but Artoria and Morgan, who knew him very well, stared at Quinn suspiciously. Even without saying a word, their eyes conveyed the same meaning.
Why did Melyuchina write a letter specifically to you about this? She's attacking, why does she need to tell you?
Chapter 226 Let go of that dragon girl, let me handle it.
After persuading the refugees who came to deliver the message to leave, ordering Ragnar to strengthen the defenses, and issuing all the orders, Morgan and Artoria no longer cared about Quinn's feelings once everyone else who had no connection with the Britannian royal family had left and only Quinn's family remained in the tent.
The sisters spoke almost simultaneously.
"What's going on with Mei Liuqina?" Mei, where is Mei? Lin Lin Kong, where is Lin Zai Zai...?
"Why did that fairy specifically notify you that she's going to attack?"
how could I know?
Quinn looked at Artoria and Morgan speechlessly, his eyes full of helplessness. This made the two sisters' expressions much better. However, the fact that their own commander and the enemy general had such a relationship still needed to be explained. After all, this was not a female-oriented website, and no one would consider it a good thing for the generals of both sides to have a private relationship.
Conversely, Quinn didn't need to prove himself; as soon as Quinn showed a speechless expression, someone stepped forward to explain.
“It’s probably because of Melyuchina’s obsession and personality. That fairy claims she wants to surpass Lancelot, and Europa II has mentioned His Majesty the Emperor to her many times…” The one who spoke was Lily, a fairy from Paradise. As a fairy, she was the one who understood fairies’ thoughts best. “So, Melyuchina probably wants to defeat His Majesty the Emperor without giving anyone a chance to criticize her. After all, there are always rumors in London that Knight Lancelot has always been known for his upright and honorable conduct.”
Upon hearing this, Artoria and Morgan both turned their heads, while the other Knights of the Round Table looked at the dumbfounded Lancelot. Lancelot himself hesitated to speak, and in the end, the entire tent burst into laughter, leaving Lancelot alone, sullen and unable to refute.
Because Lily was telling the truth.
Since the establishment of the Britannian Empire, Lancelot has been known for his noble character. Many new generation knights believe that he is a person who does everything uprightly. Whether it is a duel or commanding a battle, he wins by relying on solid strength. This seems to have become his trademark.
However, these are all just stereotypes imposed on him by outsiders.
He wasn't always like this. As long as it helped his lord achieve victory, Lancelot would even do things that would damage his honor, such as dressing up as a weak woman to infiltrate enemy camps to gather information or taking the place of a friend in a duel. However, with the rise of the Britannian Empire and the successive demise of powerful enemies, Lancelot no longer needed to do such things. Moreover, the strength of those rising stars was not yet at the level where he needed to use his wisdom to win.
To put it simply, Lancelot himself didn't believe he could be as pure and flawless as the rumors suggested. On the contrary, he was well aware that he had countless minor flaws. However, he never expected that this false title, which was praised by others, would become a source of anxiety for Europa II's first fairy knight. For a moment, he was at a loss for words to express his emotions.
“Fairies are creatures whose obsessions are sometimes more frightening than a woman’s.” After everyone had finished laughing, Agravivan, who did not want the topic to continue, also stood up and spoke.
With Lily and Agraven's intervention, everyone's attention shifted to the fight, and you quickly came up with the same strategy for dealing with Melyuchina.
Led by Agravan, Kay, and Bedivere, the Knights of the Round Table will lead the Vikings to hold off the Holy War on the main battlefield, striving to inflict surprising casualties on the European kings and force Melyuchina to appear on the front lines. Once Melyuchina appears, everything will be much easier. Lancelot and Artoria are both warriors wielding holy swords with dragon-specific attacks. Although Melyuchina is exceptionally strong, she will certainly be overwhelmed when facing both Lancelot and Artoria simultaneously.
When Melyuchina realizes she cannot defeat your army on the battlefield, given the little dragon girl's personality, a knightly duel will be her first choice, which is exactly what you desire.
[In front of all the kings of Europe, you personally defeated Melyuchina, announcing your return.]
At that time, the whole of Britannia will inevitably be in chaos, and Europa II's nearly thousand-year-old legitimate rule will also be threatened. After all, compared to a minor regency rebellion, the collapse of the legitimacy of the previous emperor's rule caused by his return is more likely to endanger the stability of Britannia.
You recounted your plans, and neither the Knights of the Round Table nor your wife objected. They had kept it hidden for a long time, and although they showed no outward resentment, Europa II's attitude towards these old ministers remained a thorn in their side. No one likes to be confined or restricted; they only concealed their discontent with Europa II out of respect and affection for you. But now…
They no longer need to conceal their dissatisfaction with Europa II; they can openly and honestly comply with your decisions to vent their frustrations. Therefore, they have no reason to oppose any of your plans that would cause Europa II to lose face.
However, just when everyone agreed with your plan, only one person expressed a different opinion.
"Master, when it comes to the duel, can I take your place?"
Mordred's voice floated lightly in Quinn's ear. Quinn instinctively looked at Mordred sitting in the far corner of the tent, only to find that Mordred had not spoken. He immediately realized that this Servant, who usually disliked using the contract between Master and Servant, must now need his help. In her eyes, fighting against Melyuchina in his place was an important matter that required going against her personal preferences.
"why?"
It was rare to see Mordred asking for a favor, so Quinn was happy to help her conceal it and responded with a contract in return.
"...It's just that I feel it would be too cruel to the other me if you were to reveal your identity in public. Please believe me, I have the ability to defeat that demon. Aren't you and Mother forging a holy sword for me? I trust you. As long as I have that sword, I will definitely be able to bring you victory."
Hearing Mordred's unwavering tone, Quinn was slightly taken aback, but the reason for his surprise was not the trust and attitude Mordred showed at this moment, but his astonishment at Mordred's talent.
no doubt.
In terms of rebellion and psychological warfare, Mordred of Pan-Human History was far more talented than his daughter.
The late emperor's return to Britain might cause some unrest, but it wouldn't cripple the vast British Empire. However, if Mordred, wielding the royal sword, were to appear on the battlefield...
You can't even imagine how much this scene will shake Melyuchina's composure, or how enraged Europa II will become. Therefore...
"Okay, I agree."
Chapter 227 The Birth of the Holy Sword